Dude, I hate camping
by Xdaisy chainX
Summary: A bear attack catches the eye of the Winchesters...but is all as it seems in the woods?
1. Chapter 1

So here it is, my first ever fanfic :D please read and review! All comments and constructive critisism are welcomed. Sit back and enjoy the ride

Disclaimer: This is Kripke's sandbox, im just playing in it for a while

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"Dean, come on, we have to make it to the campsite before nightfall, I don't know about you but I don't want to be wandering round in the woods in the dark with a pissed off wendigo running free''

Sam stood, once again having to stop to allow his pig headed brother to catch up, "I'll be fine he says, Ill be able to run rings around you up there, yeah right blah blah blah'' Sam said aloud remembering their earlier conversation in the diner.

Dean had recently come off worse in a show down between himself, an angry poltergeist and a flight of stairs. Not breaking any bones meant that all was perfectly fine in the 'Injured Dean handbook'…which meant that when he collapsed later due to a mild concussion teamed with a badly sprained ankle Sam had been caught completely off guard. After finishing up with the poltergeist, and dragging his brother out to the Impala Sam had sworn to himself that he and Dean were staying put in their motel room for at least a week.

However, never one for staying still for long periods of time, Dean was eager to be on the road again…despite only having a two day recovery period. Which was how they had ended up in the small town of Kenora.

While researching for their next gig, Sam had come across a news article telling of the deaths of a young couple who had been found mauled to pieces in the woods. The report claimed 'bear attack', but bears just hadn't felt right…and also didn't explain why there had been people going missing or found dead periodically every fifteen years for decades. Sam had barely finished explaining his findings when Dean was packed and sitting behind the wheel of the Impala eager for the hunt.

After sorting out a room for the night, Dean was ready to leave immediately for the trees. Only Sam reminding him that they had zero provisions, and no tent reigned in his impetuous brother. He had tried persuading his brother to wait one more day, partly so he could do some more research into the attack, and partly to allow Dean some more recovery time. Even though his injuries were not extremely serious, Sam knew Dean wasn't operating at 100 percent, which could spell disaster for both of them in the long run.

In the end, he only persuaded his brother to stay long enough to grab some gear and stop off at the local diner to get one last 'good' meal before the long hike, despite using his puppy dog eyes and ''bitch face'' on Dean in equal measures.

"So run the details by me again one more time'' Dean said, blowing on the cup of sludge the diner passed off as coffee.

Sam sighed before launching into the explanation for what felt like the hundredth time. "The local ranger reported a young couple missing when they didn't return from the woods two days after they were scheduled to. Cops brought along a couple of bloodhounds and combed the area. About three miles in they came across a ruined campsite…and the remains of a Gavin and Vanessa Connell. Their tents and belongings had been slashed to pieces, and the couple had been mauled to death".

"So we thinking wendigo?"

"Looks like, pattern seems to fit, two to four people every fifteen years for the past ninety. We both know that wendigo's hibernate in between 'meals' for about that long". Sam sipped his coffee, pulling a face before immediately adding a couple of packs of sugar to his mug.

"So, we take up some flare guns, gas and lighters and torch the sucker".

"Dean, we can't just go running into this blind, we don't know for certain that it IS a wendigo. And are you really up to a three mile hike into the woods, uphill I might add, before a showdown with some big bad with a set of claws?"

Dean lifted an eyebrow before regarding Sam with a long stare. "Dude I could run rings around you with two broken legs and a blindfold, you think a sprain is going to stop me from taking this sonuvabitch down? No way, and we might not know for certain that this is a wendigo but it sure looks that way to me. Anyways what else could it really be this far north? We can take some silver bullets, holy water and salt just to cover all eventualities and be back in time for Oprah".

Sam shook his head at the giant grin Dean now had plastered across his face and blew out his cheeks in defeat. "Fine, have it your way, if we leave soon we should be able to reach the campsite a few hours before dark. We can pitch camp and get some Anasazi protection symbols drawn out before nightfall, and hopefully get this finished up tomorrow".

"Pitch camp…jeeze Sammy, aren't you a little old to be a boy scout"

"It's Sam. You go out to the car, I'll pay the bill and see if I can get some sandwiches boxed up to bring along". Pointedly ignoring the boy scout jibe, Sam stood and began walking towards the cash register at the back of the diner, only just catching what his brother muttered under his breath.

"Dib dib dib"

--

Sam shook his head at the memory and continued up the steep incline they had been walking up for the past three hours, chuckling to himself when he head the mutterings of his disgruntled brother below him.

"Goddamn freakin'…..bambi legs……sasquatch…..hate the woods…don't know why anyone would want to even come here…..never mind camp…..stupid"

Dean paused for a moment to catch his breath after checking that Sam couldn't see him doing so. He would never admit it but this trek had taken a lot out of him, a lot more than he had anticipated. He knew his ankle wasn't completely healed but it hadn't really be bothering him that much on the flat ground. Three hours of walking uphill had it reminding him, with a painful dull throb, that he should be sitting in a motel room with the weight off and a big bag of M n' M's keeping him company. He wanted to ask Sam when they would be reaching the camp site, he didn't think he could keep up the pace much longer, but knew this would be a dead give away as to how tired he was feeling.

"Damn kid, notices everything,…too smart for his own good...ppftt" Dean muttered to himself as he started walking again.

Sam answered the question himself without prompting a little further along the trail. He had noticed Dean pausing more frequently over the last half hour, and decided they should take fifteen to allow him to regroup a little.

"Er, Dean, you mind if we take a little break, I'm kinda tired" Sam knew that Dean's pride wouldn't let him accept the respite any other way.

Dean's relief was almost palpable in his response, "well sure, heck Sammy if you needed a break you should have said earlier". Dean plonked down onto the nearest log and brought out his water bottle, taking a long swig before replacing the lid and stashing it in his duffle bag. Sam noticed the way he was favouring his right leg, stretching it out and putting as little weight onto it as possible.

"Another twenty to thirty minutes walk an we should be at the campsite hopefully".

Dean grinned inwardly, thirty minutes, he could walk that, easily…..he hoped. "We should arm ourselves now that we are so close to the site. You take a flare gun and I'll watch your back with the shotgun, that way we can't be taken by surprise whether it's a wendigo or not".

"Good idea, but no heroics, a warning shot should be enough to scare whatever it is off till we reach camp and make a plan".

"_Sure Sammy no heroics, unless it tries anything on with you, then it can kiss its fugly ass goodbye" _Dean thought before grunting his acceptance out loud to his brother.

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So there you go, the first chapter of many hopefully

let me know how im doing, please review :)

I'll be posting the rest tomorrow, i just want to see how the first chapter does first :p

XsarahX

p.s. iv proof read it three times, so if you find any mistakes i do apologise!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This is Kripke's sandbox, im just playing in it for a while

Second chapter :D uber thankyous to my first five reviewers as well, cookies and balloons to you all

on to chapter 2!

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Luckily for them, they reached the site of the camp without any trouble. Both brothers stood and stared at the carnage in front of them, silently taking everything in. The police tape fluttered in the wind almost serenely, contrasting harshly against the campsite behind it. The tents had been literally torn apart by bloodstained claws, leaving copper trails in their wake. There were obvious signs of a struggle as the leaf litter on the floor had been churned up. Without a word the brothers moved to follow the trail through the leaves which told of bodies being dragged away, each bearing a frown on his face.

After a few minutes of following the trail they came across the area where the couple had been found, obvious because of the amount of blood which had been spilt.

"I don't know about you Sammy but this definitely looks like a wendigo attack to me".

Sam just nodded his agreement before clearing his throat "we should get our tents set up and get the symbols drawn out. It's going to have a complete advantage over us if it catches us out here in his territory in the dark."

Dean nodded and started heading toward some flat ground…away from the unfortunate couples place of death and their decimated camping grounds.

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Sam told Dean to start drawing the symbols into the ground around their camp site while he set up their tent, noticing how tired and drawn Dean looked. Dean had accepted the easier task readily, too fatigued to feel guilty. He would also ring the site with salt, just in case the thing wasn't a wendigo though he was pretty certain it was.

Finishing up he plodded towards the fire Sam had got going, sinking heavily to the floor. He drew his shotgun into his lap after pulling off his boots and sighed.

"So, Sammy what's the plan for tomorrow?".

"I'm thinking we head towards the caves, which are about a mile away from where we are now. That's probably the most likely location for the wendigo's lair."

Dean regarded Sam thoughtfully for a moment before asking "are the caves connected or are we going to have to split up".

"They're connected, but Dean, splitting up would be a bad idea anyway, we would sitting ducks".

"Good point," Dean said nodding slowly "guess we'll have to stay together to even have a chance at bringing this sonuvabitch down. Now I don't know about you little brother but I'm bushed, gonna call it a night. Wake up call at dawn Sammy, the earlier we start this, the earlier we finish".

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Sam's eyes flicked open, and he looked around wildly for a few seconds before remembering where he was. Dean was snoring quietly beside him, spread out and taking up more than his half of the tent. Sam sat up as slowly as possible, trying not to disturb him. He realised just how tired Dean must have been in the process. Normally the slightest movement had his brother awake and alert, knife in hand. Sam moved his neck around trying to work out the kinks that sleeping in such a cramped position had produced. He squinted at his watch in the darkness, looking for the time.

"_3am, what the hell". _Something had woken Sam, and for once it wasn't a nightmare or vision. He sat perfectly still, his ears finely tuned from years of hunting, and listened... barely breathing. Leaning forward slightly, he caught the sound of a bush rustling. "_Could be anything, might be a racoon or a squirrel or…"_

Sam was cut off mid thought by the sound of low, harsh breathing. It sounded like it was coming closer to the tent. Sam sat, tense, the only movement coming from his hand slowly moving towards the shotgun he had lying by his pillow. He rested his fingers upon it, feeling instantly more reassured by the cold metal against his skin. He had every faith that the protection symbols would work…but better to be prepared, just in case.

"_Jeeze," _he thought irrationally "_I am a freakin' boy scout, 'always be prepared' " _he couldn't stop the low snort of laughter which escaped his nose.

The breathing stopped, Sam's fingers tensed around the gun, putting a light pressure on the trigger. Suddenly a loud screech ripped into the silence, making Sam jump and making Dean sit bolt upright, clutching for his knife. After only a moments hesitation, the brothers whipped open the tent and shot out into the opening…just in time to see a streak of grey heading deep into the woods.

Walking slowly to the edge of the protective circle of symbols and salt, Dean pondered over the deep claw marks, raked into the ground by a frustrated predator denied his prey. "Well at least we know the protection works huh Sammy?". Dean shot his brother huge grin before crawling back into the tent.

Sam stood still for a moment, adrenaline shooting through his body. He couldn't help but let out a shaky laugh at the sounds of snoring coming from the tent moments after his brother had disappeared. Leave it to Dean to be unfazed after a meeting with one of the greatest predators known to man…still shaking his head, Sam climbed back into the tent.

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"Dean….DEAN, wake up man, come on….I have breakfast…and coffee"

Dean groaned, finally stirring at the promise of caffeine, mumbling "wha time zit"

"5.30, dawn dude, like you said," Sam said chirpily "now get out here and get some breakfast. Cant have you collapsing of hunger out there now can we"

"Don't be so melodramatic Samantha…besides, I have my stash to keep me going". Dean tested his ankle by moving it around before pulling his boots on. It still ached but it was bearable. He didn't know how well it would fair after another miles hike to the caves . But he'd deal with that bridge when they crossed it.

"M n' M's don't count as a breakfast food Dean. Now beans on the other hand…" Sam shot Dean a grin before handing him a plate of gloop. "Eat up!"

Dean took the plate from Sam and sniffed suspiciously before taking a bite. Sam laughed out loud at his face of disgust, prompting yet another round of mutterings from Dean.

"Chirpy freakin' morning people…freaks of nature…beans…hate beans"

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It had taken the brothers little over an hour to get ready and be on the trail of the wendigo once again. They had been walking for a while when they finally saw the beginnings of the caves through the thick foliage ahead. They both had weapons drawn, each opting for a flare gun now they were sure of their quarry, handguns tucked in their jeans. Each was tense in his movements, all business now they were closing in.

Dean suddenly stopped, making eye contact with Sam and cocking an eyebrow. Sam understood the reason for the pause, he had heard it too, the low yet unmistakable sound of footsteps coming from the right, stopping the moment the brothers had. Sam and Dean stepped seamlessly until they were back to back, an unconscious movement born from years of experience of situations like this which demanded perfect synchronicity.

Sam shifted slightly from one foot to the other, ready in a moment to run if he needed to. Wendigo's weren't just incredibly strong hunters, they were inhumanly fast too, appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye. Sam scanned the tree line ahead of him, attuned to the slightest rustle of a bush.

He was taken by surprise when his brothers body hurtled into him from behind, moving too late to heed the warning yell, "SAM". He hit the ground, rolling from underneath Deans prone figure and getting into a kneeling position , gun in hand.

He shook his brothers shoulder, trying to rouse him without taking his eyes off the surrounding area. His hand came away sticky with blood.

"Dean, hey Dean, come on buddy I need you to wake up"

Dean groaned and looked up at his brother, " I'm good Sammy, just had the wind knocked out of me is all, sonuvabitch got the drop on me I didnt even see him till it was too late. Do you see it?"

"No, I think it was just trying to scare us away from its lair, listen"

Dean paused, understanding what his brother was getting at. The woods had been deathly silent preceding the attack, but were now alive with the sounds of birds calling. Taking that as a good sign he began to sit up slowly, wincing at the sharp pain in his shoulder.

Sam lowered his gun and hooked his hands under his brothers arms helping him to sit, his back throbbed where his brother had unceremoniously landed on him. "Jeeze Dean, I think you need to give up the burgers, might make for an easier landing next time you want to use me as a runway".

"Are you ok?" Dean demanded immediately, his eyes flashing, his own injuries forgotten at the prospect of Sam being hurt.

"Yeah dude, I was just kidding, you're the one leaking vital fluids here, lemme have a look at your shoulder".

"I'm fine dude, its nothing, just a scratch" Dean said, shrugging off Sam's attempts to see his injuries.

"Dean! Let me have a look, it might be more serious than you think, you know how sharp wendigo's claws can be".

Sam moved closer and grabbed hold of Deans flailing arm before peering closer at the wound. There were three deep claw marks bleeding freely, Sam sighed, grabbing the bandages from the duffle bag. The wounds looked like they might need stitching, but for now he had to just stop the blood flowing freely down his brothers arm.

"Take off your jacket and I'll bandage these up before we go any further, don't want you passing out on me in the middle of this."

Dean sighed before allowing his brother to help him remove the coat, his eyes clouding with fury when he saw the rips in the leather.

"Hurry up nurse Francis, I have a date with one ugly sonuvabitch…and this time its personal…I loved that jacket".

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Read and review, you know you want to :) dont make me beg...it wont be pretty

chapter three up tomorrow!

XsarahX

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This is Kripke's sandbox, im just playing in it for a while

Let me take a moment to thank everyone who reviewed my last chapter, double figures now, woo hoo!

Onto chapter three..

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Patched up and rearmed Dean moved towards the caves, Sam in step behind him. There were numerous entrances into the mountainous interior, but the brothers instinctively moved towards the opening which had seen the most activity recently. Scuff marks in the ground and broken plant life told of the entrance being used frequently.

Dean, still leading, reached into his pocket bringing out his flashlight. Holding it in his left hand, he used it to look ahead in the tunnel, resting his right hand holding the flare gun on top on his wrist. He periodically scanned from right to left taking in all of the caves details whilst simultaneously looking for their prey. He rested the beam of the flashlight for a few seconds on a pile of old bones and skulls resting against the wall of the tunnel. Continuing forwards, he stopped still when the tunnel suddenly forked.

"Sonuva…" he said out loud, wearily.

"What is it?" whispered Sam moving slightly to Dean's right so he could see what had perturbed his brother "…..ah"

"So what do we do? Split up?"

Sam looked at his brother, taking in the lines of pain in his face, "_his ankle must be bothering him again"_he thought, before scanning Dean's shoulder. Already spots of blood were showing through the bandage. He made his decision.

"No way, we wouldn't stand a chance against this guy if we were alone he's too good Dean. We need to stick together".

Wendigo's were dangerous, not because of their superhuman speed and strength, not even because of the weapons they were packing. What made them dangerous was the fact that they were smart. Sam knew that if they split up, the wendigo would go for his brother knowing that he was injured. He figured this was why Dean had been the one attacked in the clearing, "_it must have been watching us for a while before it attacked, and noticed Dean was limping"_

"Dude, I am so not in the mood for spending the day in these tunnels, we split up and we could have this thing finished in a few hours". Dean frowned, Sam was staring at him like he was going to break any minute.

"No, no Dean, this time you listen to me, your willing to risk our lives just so you can finish this sooner?". Sam stared at his brother with wide eyes. He was playing a dirty game by including himself in the risk equation. He knew Dean wouldn't knowingly put his brother in danger.

Dean sighed, his shoulders drooping in defeat. "Actually I was more concerned about missing Oprah. Fine, have it your way, we stick together even if it does mean spending twice as long in the dark, smelly caves."

Sam smiled, taking two long strides to catch up to his brother who had begun moving again. He walked abreast of Dean keeping in step, with his flare gun in his hand.

Unconsciously, Dean slowed his breathing, taking long and low breaths so as to be able to hear any noise made by the wendigo.

"Dude, you wanna stop making so much noise over there, your breathing like a steam engine"

"Er…Dean….that's not me breathing" Sam said, whirling around to try and stop any sneak attacks from behind. He felt rather than saw something rush past him, hitting into Dean who let out an "Oof" and dropped both his flare gun and flashlight.

There was a cracking noise and the brothers were plunged suddenly in darkness.

Dean stopped and crouched down so as to make himself a smaller target. "Sammy" he whispered into the darkness.

"Dean?". Sam had also instantly crouched low to the ground. He stretched his arms out and waved them in a circle around his body in an attempt to find his brother. His fingertips brushed against something in the dark and he shuffled closer, arm outstretched thinking it might be the side of the tunnel. His hand rested on something that definatly wasn't the rock wall of the cave. It was leathery and warm…and it moved "_oh hell _DEAN!"

It almost sounded like the wendigo let out a raspy laugh before launching himself at the defenceless Winchester, claws slashing, cutting through more than just the darkness. Sam let out a yelp as he felt them raking down his chest.

"SAM DOWN!" Dean cried as he flicked the lighter in his hand. Not being able to find his flare gun, he had compromised when he had come across the lighter and a can of deodorant in his duffle. Hearing Sam drop bonelessly to he ground, he pressed down, holding the can behind the fire making an effective flame thrower. He quickly swung the flame from the left to the right of the tunnel trying to find the sonuvabitch who had dared to hurt his brother. There was a loud, wail like screech and a smell of burnt flesh as the flame hit its mark, not enough to destroy the wendigo but enough to send it packing.

Dean smiled at the sound, which meant he had hit his targer, before frowning in worry remembering his brothers groan. "Sam, dude you ok?" he asked, crouching and moving towards the huddled mass he remembered seeing in the light of the fire. He dragged his bag with him, intending to hunt out one of the spare flashlights they had brought along.

He could hear his brother's slow controlled breathing and realised he was trying to control the pain of a wendigo inflicted wound. He placed a reassuring hand on his brothers shoulder, easing him onto his back before digging around in the duffle bag for the flashlight and unbuttoning Sam's shirt.

"I'm ok…Dean…I think" Sam said between gasps.

"Yeah sure you are Sammy, let me take a look" Dean said, snapping on the light. He sucked the air through his teeth at the sight. There was a deep crisscrossed pattern of cuts on Sam's chest where the wendigo had used both sets of razor sharp claws to inflict damage. Dean could tell that in some places the wounds were deep enough to require stitching, but not wanting to even attempt stitches in the crappy lighting he sighed as he pulled put the roll of bandages from the first aid kit.

"How bad is it then Dr Dean?" Sam asked, the hot pain more under control now.

"You'll live, but you need stitches. I wont be able to do them till we get out of here though, think you can hang on buddy?"

"Yeah man, been hurt worse than this, patch me up and we can carry on. It sounded like you tagged the sucker good with the fire so it should be a little weaker now, or at least at a disadvantage". Sam hissed as Dean poured water over the wounds before using some of the bandage to clean and cover them up.

"Can you carry on Sammy? Because we can finish this later, you come first. We could go to a hospital and have you some recovery time before we come back" Dean tried and failed to hide the worry in his voice.

"No Dean, we cant afford to let the wendigo regroup, and he might attack someone else before we manage to get back here. We finish this now and then recover. It doesn't hurt that much, I can deal till we get back", while saying this he had begun to rise slowly, accepting the hand offered by his brother.

"Well if your sure little brother, lets get to it, but if you start feeling worse then say so, I'm not carrying your heavy ass out of here" handing Sam his flare gun and a flashlight of his own he slung his duffle over his shoulder and continued down the tunnel.

As the brothers moved deeper into the caves, a faint odour wafted into their noses. As they progressed it got worse, an unmistakable stench…the smell of death.

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Chapter four up tomorrow!

XsarahX


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This is Kripke's sandbox, im just playing in it for a while

As always, a million thanks to those readers who are taking the time to review :D your making me a very happy bunny

Onwards to chapter four!

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"I think we're getting close to its store room Dean" Sam whispered, "maybe its in there nursing its wounds".

"I hope so Sammy I want this over, I feel like a freakin' mole right now. If I never see another cave again it will be too soon".

Another hundred feet in, and suddenly the tunnel opened up into a fairly large cave room. Rocks, dislodged from the walls, sat in piles all around the uneven ground. There were cracks and crevices littered about and areas where the floor suddenly fell away into random holes. Light filtered in down a thin shaft hundreds of meters long casting an eerie glow over the stone.

The source of the smell suddenly became apparent. Two corpses hung on the walls, hands above their heads, partially eaten and badly decayed. The look of horror and anguish still apparent on their barely there faces. Hundreds of bones littered the floor, some with rotting flesh still attached, evidence of decades of victims that had met their demise in the very same room.

Sam leant over, retching at the smell and sight of the poor people strung up, who had evidently suffered in death. Dean rubbed his back in slow circles, a look of disgust upon his face, anger in his eyes.

"Sam, this ends, today!" he said through clenched teeth.

Sam nodded, bent over, breathing slowly, hands braced on his knees. His head snapped up suddenly and Deans hand stopped its circles when they heard loud footsteps heading towards the cave room from the other entrance. Dean made hand motions, signalling silently to Sam to move to the left while he went to the right snapping off his flashlight. Sam copied this motion before snaking to his position. The brothers hid behind outcrops of rock, coming to the conclusion that the wendigo couldn't have realised they were there due to the amount of noise it was making.

The smell that assaulted Deans nostrils made him want to gag. Almost a century of living in decay and rot and damp made the wendigo smell like it was already way past dead. It shuffled forward making low growling noises laced with whimpers.

Walking under the shaft of light, the brothers got their first full look at it. Ten feet tall, it was an imposing presence despite being rake thin. A scrap of filthy fabric clung to its skinny hips. It's long fingers tapered at the ends into deadly looking claws. The red, blistering, burnt skin which ran the length of its right arm stood out brilliantly against the sallow grey colour of the rest of its body. Its watery, yellow eyes scanned the ground as it looked for something. Evidently finding what it wanted, the wendigo bent low to pick up a bone, complete with scraps of rotting flesh, before crouching down and beginning to gnaw loudly.

Dean noticed how it slow its movements were when using its right arm, signalling that the burn was agony for the creature. Locking this piece of information away into a corner of his brain ready to use it if the opportunity arose, he made eye contact with Sam. He signalled his intention, he would distract the wendigo allowing Sam precious seconds to get the upper hand undetected and hopefully make the kill.

Sam shook his head vigorously, he knew how reckless his brother could be in situations like this. Dean just grinned and gave him the thumbs up before jumping out from behind his position and hollering "HEY you ugly sonuvabitch, come take a bite of me, go on I dare you!"

The wendigo's head snapped up, and it gave a scream of rage before throwing its bone to the ground and launching himself at the older Winchester. Dean dived past the onslaught trying to get the creatures back to Sam so it wouldn't realise he was there.

Stumbling to his feet he backed away from the wendigo, who was now menacingly moving towards him, claws outstretched ready to attack. It aimed swipes at Deans torso, the hunter narrowly avoiding them by jumping back. Behind he saw Sam step from his hiding place, flare gun in hand, however in doing so he unwittingly stood on one of the many bones scattered on the floor. The loud snap reverberated around the cave walls, the look of shock on Sam's face would have been comical in any other situation.

The wendigo snapped his head round, and seeing the younger Winchester with his weapon drawn it screamed, preparing to charge towards Sam.

With a yell of rage, Dean did the only thing he could do to prevent his little brother being hurt. He launched himself at the wendigo, rugby tackling it to the ground. He aimed a punch at the creatures face, hearing the satisfying thwack of flesh on flesh. The creature took only a moment to recover before throwing Dean from his body with one powerful swipe of its clawed hand.

"DEAN NO!" Sam could only look on in horror as his brother was thrown bodily across the room…falling towards one of the many holes in the ground.

Dean yelled as the bottom of the hole rushed up towards him, white hot pain shooting through his already injured ankle as it hit the ground first before his head made contact with the rocky floor. His world faded into swamping darkness.

Sam stood in shock for a moment after hearing his brothers yell cut short by the bone chilling thud that followed it. He was enraged when the wendigo turned slowly, eyeing him before its rasping laughter filled the cave.

"You sonuvaBITCH!" he yelled before aiming his flare gun. The wendigo ran at him, full throttle, barrelling into the gun…and Sam. The gun clattered out of reach of the hunters grasping hand.

He gasped as his hit the ground, the wind temporarily knocked out of him. The creatures own tempo meant that it had ended up landing a few feet away from the younger brother.

It scrambled into a crouching position before jumping towards Sam, latching its claws into his leg lowering its head to bite. With an angry, pain filled yell Sam picked up a large rock from the ground and sat up bringing it down hard onto the creatures burnt, blistered arm.

The wendigo yelped before backing away from Sam, whimpering and fingering its wound trying to stop the pain. This hesitation allowed Sam time to throw himself towards the flare gun, twisting around and shooting simultaneously.

In almost slow motion the flare rushed towards the wendigo's chest before erupting in a ball of flame. One screech of pain later and it was all over. The creatures body slowly falling to its knees before slamming to the ground.

Sam let out a shaky breath and flopped onto his back. He lay there for a moment, chest heaving as the pain in his leg rushed across his body like a wave of heat. Blood had soaked through the bandages on his chest as it protested the recent activity. Realisation suddenly dawned on Sam as he lay there, and he stood as quickly as possible calling "Dean?".

Adrenaline pumped through his body allowed him to forget his own injuries or the moment as he rushed towards the hole his brother had been thrown into. He paused momentarily to grab a discarded flashlight, before sliding on his stomach to the edge of the darkness.

"Dean?" he called again, snapping on the flashlight and aiming it into the abyss. He sighed with relief when he saw that the hole was at most, ten feet deep. But the relief was short lived when he finally caught sight of his brother.

Dean was lying on his back, spread eagled. The bandages on his arm were ripped, the blood from the reopened wound mingling with the blood from his head.

Sam's eyes widened at the sight of his brothers pale face contrasting horribly with the three bleeding claw marks on his cheek. Dark rings of fatigue circled his eyes. It almost looked like he was….

"DEAN! Come on Dean, wake up…please"

It might have been the pleading note in his brothers voice, or it might have just been time to wake up. Whatever the case, Deans eyes began to flutter and he stirred at the rock bottom of the hole. He mumbled "Sammy…you ok?" before letting out a low groan.

"I'm fine Dean" Sam said, shaking his head and smiling at his brothers usual show of worry for the younger Winchester in the face of his own injuries.

"That's it, come on wake up, I'm gonna need help hauling your ass out". Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Dean waking up now meant was a good sign that he was going to be ok.

Dean was trying his hardest to stay conscious and open his eyelids, but they suddenly seemed to weigh ten times more than they usually did. He shifted, getting ready to try and sit up…bad idea. He was suddenly assaulted by a world of hurt. His head throbbed and sharp needles of pain shot through his now bleeding shoulder whenever he moved it. He moved each of his limbs one by one, testing to see if anything was broken.

Sam heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a groan coming from the hole. He had limped away from the edge, satisfied Dean would be ok for a moment, in search for something that might aid him in getting his brother topside again. The gasp sent him skidding back towards his brother to check on him.

"Dean, what is it, you ok man?" looking down, Sam noticed his brother had an almost green tinge to his face and a fine sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

"Think…I broke…my ankle" Dean said between gasps of pain.

Sam stared at his brother wonderingly. He could already see Deans attempts to manage the pain by breathing slower. He also caught snatches of Metallica's Enter Sandman which he was humming in an attempt to take his mind off his ankle. The technique seemed to be working. His face lost its green tinge, and although it was still too pale for Sam's liking, there was a little colour back in Deans cheeks.

Sam decided it was time to get his brother out of here. He looked around the cave one more time in an effort to find something useful. His eyes rested on the corpses hung on the wall. Both of the bodies had belts in their rotting pants. Fighting back the revulsion he was feeling, he scrambled to his feet and limped towards decaying couple. He gagged as he unhooked the buckles and started pulling the belts from their unfortunate wearers.

The smell of decay still fresh in his nostrils, he shuffled back towards the hole, unhooking his own belt as he did so. Tying the belts together, he was left with a makeshift rope which was about five feet long. Peering over the edge, he saw Dean was now standing, leaning over, one hand braced on the wall, one on his knee. His injured ankle was elevated so only the tip of his boot was touching the floor.

"_Atta boy Dean_" Sam thought before calling down to his brother, "you ok down there?".

"Yeah Sam, just peachy. Now can we please get me out of here? I'm kinda over the whole cave diving experience" Dean looked up and saw Sam's worried face peering over the edge of the rock face. He sucked in a breath and shot him the best grin he could muster in an effort to try and ease his brothers feelings. Seeing Sam's shoulders drop a little, he realised it had worked and his bother was feeling less tense.

"Right, I have a makeshift rope made of belts I'm going to use to pull you out, it might be a little painful though, your going to have to help me by climbing a little".

"Ok Sammy, I can try," Dean said, hating how weak his voice sounded.

Sam lowered the belts down the hole, waiting until Dean caught it before he sat back and braced his legs on a large rock near the hole.

"Ok dude, I'm going to start pulling now, you ready?"

Sam heard the low grunt confirming he was before leaning back and hauling. He could hear his brother below scrabbling for foot holds with his good leg. Arm over arm, he slowly pulled Dean from the pit, panting with the effort, his chest burning where parts of the wound were reopening.

Finally he saw Deans hand appearing or the lip of the hole, he grabbed it and hauled his brother up the last few feet. Both Winchesters lay on the rock floor side by side, panting, trying to get their breath back.

"So…you got the sucker huh?" Dean asked, noticing the smouldering remains of the wendigo in the corner.

"Yeah," Sam said between gasps "I'll tell you about it one time…when we aren't bleeding."

"Awesome job Sammy" Dean said, fatigue lacing his voice.

Sam felt a flush of pride. He knew Dean was proud of him, he could feel it in his words. He rolled over onto his knees, standing up and offering his hand.

Dean sighed and grabbed it, hauling himself up. When he was vertical he frowned suddenly prompting a new bout of worry from Sam who figured Dean had just discovered a fresh injury.

"What is it?" Sam asked hurriedly

"Dude….we totally missed Oprah"

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So thats it, just the epilogue to follow now

All comments and critiques are welcome :D

XsarahX


	5. Epilogue

Disclaimer: This is Kripke's sandbox, im just playing in it for a while

Well, it's the end of the ride...time to get off, and what a ride its been. Thankyou eveyone who stayed with the fic from start to finish, and uber thanks for those who took the time to review :D

Just a short epilogue now to tie up the loose ends and we're finished!

* * *

Waking up in his vaguely comfortable bed, he stretched his limbs one by one before sighing and throwing back the covers. Padding into the bathroom, he picked up his toothbrush, turned on the tap in the sink and peered into the mirror. The claw marks had been reduced to pink lines of skin which would soon fade from sight. The black circles gone from his eyes.

Dean winked at himself, grinning, "_I'm back baby"_

Finishing up in the bathroom Dean walked into the motel room, pausing only to grin wickedly before picking up his cell phone. He turned up the volume and set the alarm for one minute past the time it was. He crept towards the head of Sam's bed, leaving the phone on his pillow…right next to his unfortunate victims ear. Taking a step back he smiled and waited for the show to begin.

The cell alarm screeched , sending an unsuspecting Sammy skyward as he leapt in fright.

Dean grimaced as he laughed so hard he pulled some of the stitches in his shoulder. Sam looked at him, an expression of pure disgust on his face.

"Ha ha Dean, very funny" he said rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Dude, that was priceless, you should have seen your face. Thought you were supposed to be a badass wendigo killer Sammy boy". Dean had such an expression of glee on his face Sam couldn't help but smile.

"I am, you're the lazy ass who lies in holes while everyone else does the work, remember" Sam looked at his brother grinning.

He was surprised that they hadn't killed each other to be honest. The pranks had been coming thick and fast in the last week due to the respite time prescribed by the doctor at the hospital. After stumbling back through the caves, each brother leaning on the other in a bid to stay standing, they had spent the rest of the day walking and hopping out of the woods, stopping only to pack up and retrieve the tents. Finally reaching the Impala hours later, Sam almost felt the urge to join his brother in laying on the hood, hugging the car. After arguing over who's injuries were worse, Sam had 'won' the right to drive by holding the keys above Deans head, who had fixed his brother with a death glare before sulking in the passenger seat the whole way to the hospital.

Upon arrival, having their story of a hike in the woods gone wrong down to a T, the brothers were treated for their injuries. Sam coming out with a bandaged leg and stitches in his chest, Dean with a bandaged head, stitches in his shoulder and crutches. The doctor had pronounced that Dean's ankle was not broken, but was badly sprained and would need to be properly rested for at least week.

With instructions, that would be ignored, to return to the hospital in seven days time to have their stitches removed, the brothers left, returning to the welcomed sight of their motel room…where they had stayed put for the past five days. Now Dean, bored out of his mind, was scouring the internet everyday for anything suspicious. Sam knew he must be desperate to leave, he had never seen his brother so eager to research for anything before in his life.

Still smiling Sam walked into the bathroom clutching clean clothes and a towel. He walked out to a glee filled Dean sitting on is bed, and looked around suspiciously trying to figure out what prank he had in waiting.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked, noticing his laptop open in the corner.

"Get packed and ready to go Sammy, we have a new gig to get to"

End

* * *

Taa daaa:D all finished and completed.

All comments and critiques welcome, lemme know how im doing

I just started on a new fic which i will start uploading next week so keep an eye out for that one

thanks again everyone!

XsarahX


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